Comments (174)

The US needs to be safer by treating mental illness in better ways, by creating better road systems so there is less road rage, stopping bullying, not by taking AWAY a right given to us to protect ourselves from our government. We disagreed with England and rose up against them, are you saying it will NEVER happen here?

government gave you that right 250 years ago due to certain reasons. the problem is that today, in 21st century, with all the taxes you're paying and security measures which are so to say implemented, it is still necessary for huge number of people to arm themselves. PP mentioned armed crazy cousin. Is that the right response of the policeman to say - shoot him when he comes? Until then he is going to walk around with that gun, obrained legally or illegally i don't know and no one does anything? The mother of the guy who did that massacre in Connecticut - she was obtaining guns legally to protect herself from chaos if fiscal cliff happens. It turned against her and a lot of other innocent people. Violence causes violence, this is my point.

Our rights should not be taken away just because there are jackasses out there. Whether you place stricter regulations on guns or not, they will still find a way to get what they want. The laws we have in place for anything are set as a guideline and are expected to be abide by. There is a reason why punishments are in place for when they are broken. Punishing those who have done no wrong is a crime in itself. I am a gun toting mama and I will be damned if anyone tried to take my rights to protect myself and my family. Fortunately, I have never had to pull the trigger, but I have been in situations where it has kept me from danger.

I don't think that everyone should have a gun and I am glad that there are people that CHOOSE not to have one. It is unfortunate that there is not a way to create a competency test for those who would like to own a gun, but there are a ton of people who can pass a driver's license test and should not be on the roads. We just have to hope that they get caught before something horrible happens.

I also think that it is a personal responsibility to yourself, those around you, and the public to educate yourself, become familiar and comfortable, train, and properly store your guns if you choose to have one. I am an Army Veteran, pregnant with my first, and have two step-children ages 12 and 14. Both of my kids have been taught from early on (about 5) the dangers and uses of guns, gun safety, handling, and what to do when they find a gun anywhere. We even have family trips about once a month to go to the range. They always have direct supervision and have safe handling is always used and corrections made if needed.

For the unfortunate cases of school shootings, I think that at minimum, school security should carry guns after proper background checks and training. I think that there should also be an option for teachers/staff to carry if they would like, with the same background checks and training. The training should include multiple scenarios in a mock school setup. They should be trained on what to do with the students in their area and how and when they should approach, handle, or shoot the suspect.

I could go on forever, but don't take my guns. I fought for them and have not done anything to lose them.

--

FTM w/ BABY BOY EDD 03/17/13

Married to the love of my life since 06/29/11, together since Sept. 2004!

" Banning guns will do absolutely nothing in regards to stopping bad things from happening. Why?Because guns don't kill people, PEOPLE kill people. Adam Lanza was a sick, mentally ill individual. He broke 42 laws that day. You really think one measley gun law would have stopped him? Yeah, probably not. Meth and cocaine are still illegal, people still buy and sell those on a daily basis. My point? Just because its illegal does not mean it will stop people from getting, buying, selling, and using. It is the person and their own free will that is CHOOSING to make these decisions."

With that said, I do not think that our right to bear arms should be taken. I have a right to buy and use a gun and to protect myself and ny family. No way in hell am I going to let some crazy motherfucker ruin it for the rest of us who obey gun laws. I actually think guns SHOULD be permitted on school property. Why? Well, plain and simple: if someone other than the gunman had a gun, you really think we'd have so many cassualties? No way. As someone who works for a school district, I would LOVE to carry a gun. If I saw a shady guy walking into a school from the buses (im a bus driver assistant), you bet your ass I will follow him into the school and see that he isn't about to shoot up the place. If I hear shots, damn right I'll follow the sound of shots and shoot the dumbass dead.

As a Canadian, I agree with the comments of the pp. I honestly don't know a single person who owns a handgun. I know a couple people who have hunting rifles kept in safes and there are a lot of legalities to get those. It just isn't done around here. And although we do have occasional gun violence in the biggest cities in our country, the rates of gun violence in Canada and many other countries of the world with strict gun laws are substantially lower than in the US. The presence of guns leads to gun violence. That's a fact. Can the US ban guns? Probably not, because of your laws (however antiquated) and the simple fact that there are so many in circulation. It has become part of your culture and that makes it impossible to eliminate. But there could be more regulation in relation to semi automatic weapons, licensing, safety etc.

Renna - I was born in "the Hammer" (Hamilton). I live about 40 minutes away (closer to Niagara Falls) and my community is beautiful. There are the occasional homicides where we live, you can't stop all violence - but it is not gun violence. We travel to the US every few weeks (I live 15 minutes from the border) and while we are jealous of Yankees for having cheap gas and milk, Target, Chilis and a Cheesecake Factory, we aren't remotely envious of the guns and violence in Buffalo.

The mental health issue is huge too and needs to be addressed. This is an area that concerns me and we have free health care!

Lastly, as a teacher, the thought of having a gun in my school terrifies me. I actually got to shoot a gun (22?) for the first time in my life a couple years ago. We went to a gun range, spent two hours learning about gun safety and were allowed to shoot in the range. I'd never held a handgun before and it scared the crap out of me. I almost threw up. When I told my colleagues the next day, most had never touched a real gun either and were shocked (some were intrigued). Suffice to say, if there is ever a zombie apocalypse, we are all in trouble!

Has anybody on here read up on the Dunblane school massacre in the 1990's? A similar type of story which hugely impacted gun control. Very interesting.
I do agree with headofclass - I think it would be impossible to outright ban guns in the USA because it is SO MUCH a part of the culture and has been for centuries. Again I can't relate because I was raised in an entirely different world. I do think that those who say that guns make a country safer need to take a look at the statistics. If guns make people "safer" then why does the USA have the highest rate of gun related homicide? I guess I just don't see how this makes sense. Could it just be bringing you a false sense of security? Just today I heard on the news - 4 people shot dead in a murder suicide in Colorado and a 6 year old boy brought a gun to school to protect himself I think it was Arkansas or somewhere, I forget. Regardless - it just seems overwhelming being just days after the horrific school shooting last Friday. I truly am
A bit scared to go to the states right now actually. With the mall shooting, movie theatre shooting in July, school shooting ... The list goes on. As a non American I am becoming afraid to travel to the USA.

I think there are plenty of gun control and gun safety laws. Gun control is absolutely NOT the issue with the tragedy in CT. And that boy's mother allowed him access to those guns, despite the fact that she was aware of mental illness and violent tendencies. There were clearly issues at hand here, but I'd say she was being an irresponsible parent more than an irresponsible gun owner. One responsibility is just more important than the other.

First of all I have no idea how the CT tragedy has turned into an anti assault rifle campain when he was carrying handguns. Secondly for those who think we should still have the right to bear arms, but ban assault rifles and semi automatics.... exactly what arms are you ok with us bearing? Is it preferred that we carry a 12 gauge shotgun over our back as opposed to a small semi automatic pistol in a holster under my clothing? I will take my pistol for carry. I see so many arguments that "well I seen these people murdered on the news or in the paper... if it weren't for guns they wouldn't have been shot", true but they may have still been murdered another way and if they had utilized their right they may have protected themselves like pp. I am really convinced armed citizens could or staff could have greatly changed the outcome of the CT event. The teachers can do nothing more against an armed assailant than what they did which is try to block the children and hope they don't get shot. I of course wish increased security in our schools wasn't necessary, but it is. I also believe these attacks mostly happening at schools is not random or going to slow until the security is increased... It just makes sense that the gunmen are smart enough to not go where honest law abiding citizens will be armed like a grocery store when they know they can go to a school and be the superior force. I also agree with a PP that too many do not know anything about this debate and I worry that many of our lawmakers are in the same boat... Like so many saying its ok to have guns to hunt but not assault rifles... Take a .22 caliber rifle with a 10 round capacity... put wood on the exterior and its a hunting rifle put black plastic on the outside and politicians and many citizens consider it an assault rifle.... SAME GUN. I REALLY hope the lawmakers get their heads in the game and learn about these gun classifications before trying to start banning things when they clearly do not know about them and also not listen to the voters telling them to ban them who also don't understand the difference.

"Just because someone kicked in your door doesn't mean they are there to hurt you, and the fact that they had/have a gun doesn't mean anything."

@ My4LittleGirls: I will never be so naive as to assume that someone who has illegally and forcefully trespassed into my home with a weapon is there to just "rob" me. In these types of situations, there is a small window of opportunity to react and that window for me does not include trying to assess why a grown ass man is in my home with (or without) a gun. The bottom line is that I have a duty to protect myself & my family and having that right, I will continue to do so.

I'm sorry that you had to endure being robbed at gun point but I truly believe that different situations call for different actions/reactions.